Editorial Reviews

All Music Guide - Stephen Thomas Erlewine

"How can we miss you when you won't go away?" It's a question that sounds as if it could be the title of an Aerosmith power ballad co-written by Diane Warren, but it's a sentiment that also applies to the Boston quintet themselves. 2012's Music from Another Dimension! may be their first album in eight years -- and their first record of original material in over a decade! -- but the band has never been far from the headlines during those missing years, and not just because Steven Tyler screeched his way into America's homes as Simon Cowell's replacement on American Idol. Joe Perry, the Keith Richards to Tyler's Mick Jagger, never was happy about Tyler's leap to ...

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Editorial Reviews

All Music Guide
- Stephen Thomas Erlewine

"How can we miss you when you won't go away?" It's a question that sounds as if it could be the title of an Aerosmith power ballad co-written by Diane Warren, but it's a sentiment that also applies to the Boston quintet themselves. 2012's Music from Another Dimension! may be their first album in eight years -- and their first record of original material in over a decade! -- but the band has never been far from the headlines during those missing years, and not just because Steven Tyler screeched his way into America's homes as Simon Cowell's replacement on American Idol. Joe Perry, the Keith Richards to Tyler's Mick Jagger, never was happy about Tyler's leap to the small screen, but it was just one of many interpersonal squabbles that bled their way into the public. That schism can be heard on Music from Another Dimension!, particularly toward its conclusion when Perry muscles his way to the mike for a pair of bracing rockers reminiscent of the band at full flight, but more than anything, this big-budget blockbuster telegraphs that Aerosmith is indeed broadcasting from another dimension, a dimension where splashy kitchen-sink albums from rock bands could sell millions of copies on sheer momentum alone. Carrie Underwood may pop up for a duet on "Can't Stop Loving You," but that's the only nod to the present on an album that's living every day like it's 1997. Both the rockers and ballads are big, big, big, dressed in countless overdubs, so much clatter that it can be hard to hear hooks initially. Simply put, nobody makes albums like this any more. Nobody breaks the bank attempting to make a rock album that's everything to everyone and Aerosmith sounds entirely oblivious to this state of affairs, carrying on like it was 1997. And, in a sense, as an overall piece of product, Music from Another Dimension! is no worse than Nine Lives. It may lack a single as immediate as "Fallin' in Love Is Hard on the Knees" -- or the subsequent "Jaded" from 2001's Just Push Play -- but it faithfully follows Aerosmith's '90s blueprint. [The Deluxe Edition featured a second disc with three bonus tracks, and a DVD.]

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Customer Reviews

AeroBallet

Posted November 19, 2012

I've been an Aerosmith fan a long time.. I enjoy this album! S

I've been an Aerosmith fan a long time.. I enjoy this album! Something for every one.. from heavy rockers like Street Jesus to the haunting ballad of Another Last Goodbye.. this album is genius.. Steven Tyler's vocals.. Joe Perry and Brad Whitford's intertwined guitar licks.. Tom Hamilton's talent on the bass and Joey Kramer's hit hard style on the drums make this album a keeper..

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted November 19, 2012

I recently bought this CD, have listened to it several times and

I recently bought this CD, have listened to it several times and like it very much. I've never considered myself a big Aerosmith fan, although I have liked them quite a lot through the years. There are several filler songs, but not many. Overall, it seems Aerosmith put a lot of effort into this album and I appreciate it. I got the deluxe version which, of course, does have some bonus songs, including &quot;Sunny Side of Love, &quot; which is one of my favorites. I'm sure there are critics out there who say Aerosmith should call it quits, that they reached their peak long ago, etc. However, as long as they can make an album like this which became quite an unexpected and pleasant surprise for me, I'd have to say Aerosmith should keep playing music if that's what they feel like doing.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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